Piracy In The Bay

It remains the greatest act of theft in Australian history. On a moonlit night in 1852, the barque, Nelson, was riding at anchor in Hobson’s Bay in the then young Colony of Victoria. Aboard the vessel was an 8,000 ounce gold consignment bound for London. In an audacious assault, a band of heavily armed pirates took possession of the ship, shooting her chief ficer and imprisoning her crew. The pirates then helped themselves to the gold. In today’s money, their heist would be worth more than 35 million dollars. This makes the value of their theft three times greater than the famed Eugowra Gold Robbery.

The ramifications of the Nelson piracy were enormous. It was an incident that capped widespread lawlessness throughout Victoria during the early gold rush years. With crime rampant, and the government held accountable, it was perhaps the final straw that saw a hapless Governor Charles La Trobe resign his tenure. And it was a main factor in instigating the end of convict transportation — at least to Tasmania.